Granit Xhaka has opened up about his welcome at Arsenal, revealing Arsene Wenger’s management style to be insanely charismatic.
Arsene Wenger is a man who, while often being shoved under the spotlight of criticism and scrutiny, manages a rather private club. Clearly Arsenal are not an unknown quantity, their players are world famous and their manager one of the most recognisable in world football. Rather, the mechanisms of the side, the planning and preparation is all relatively unknown.
Thereby, when, as external observers of a rather complex and intricate process, we get a sneak peek into the workings of Wenger it can often be truly fascinating, revealing little titbits of information, the way he man-manages, his tactical preferences and coaching philosophies.
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We were offered a glimpse into Wenger’s working through the recent comments of major summer signing Granit Xhaka. With the deal completed in early June, the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder joined with the first team squad after his European Championships finished with national side Switzerland. After his first preseason in North London, Xhaka opened up about life under Wenger:
“He [Wenger] has an incredible way, an insane charisma. You look at him and know: “Wow, this man has achieved and experienced so much”. The respect for him is enormous. He’s not a coach who speaks to you every day. Wenger has spoken to me two or three times. He’s told me he’s very impressed by how I train and how I’m a disciplined character.”
Such comments are wonderful to hear. It is very rare that we get a look at the innermost workings of a club as big as Arsenal, and even a piece of information as little as “Wenger has spoken to me two are three times” is extremely revealing about Le Prof’s coaching tendencies and the way that he likes to run the club as a whole.
What is a key theme throughout Xhaka’s comments, however, is the admiration and respect he has for the man who has built this club over the past 20 years. Clearly Xhaka is embracing the opportunity to work under one of the best managers in the history of the game and Wenger was clearly a huge factor in him joining the Gunners in the first place.
Like it or not, Wenger is still an integral piece of the Arsenal puzzle. He the is cornerstone on which everything is built, the leader of the team, the club and the fans, and even after nearly 20 years in North London, is still an inspiration to many players, both old and new.
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